Hir(::)
by Mother Mae-Eye
Summary: He calls the button-eyed Hamada imposters "Mom" and "Dad". They baked cookies- it's normal and sweet and Tadashi can very clearly smell sugar in his brother's messy hair and see the smudge of chocolate on his left sleeve. It terrifies him. So when no one is looking, Tadashi locks the little door in the little blue family room, and hides the button key. (Coraline AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello :)**

 **I'm new to the Big Hero 6 fandom (kind of taking a break from Frozen/ROTG :/ ) very guilty to say that I have a couple other stories that seriously need to be updated but I'm not feeling like it right now. Soooo I've decided to try something new!**

 **I'm really excited to say that this is one of my first fanfictions in this fandom- a sort of cross between Coraline, Big Hero 6, and a few Disney movies. Not very original, I know, but I am so excited to see where this goes! I hope you like it!**

 **Every chapter, I will try to make short and a consistent length (which might not work out), there is no pairing whatsoever other than very very very very small mentions of Anna and Kristoff (they are rather minor in the plot), and characters will not be very developed or be possibly OOC considering my time limit (trying to get this done over the break), and basically, I've thrown this crap together in the span of two hours-but hopefully I'll be able to update often!**

 **warnings: possible OOC-ness, boring introductory**

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 **(::)**

The second the three step into the _Pink Palace_ , they get to work, and the Hamadas were very diligent workers. When the two young nephews of Cassandra Hamada are equipped with several disinfectant wipes, a broom, and a feather duster, they are sent off to clean separate rooms while she takes care of the kitchen. Tadashi, a boy with bright brown eyes and a tall, lean stature, intent on not speaking to the younger of the two, with even brighter brown eyes but noodle arms and legs, occupies the grande dining room across the hall from the little blue family room the small boy took.

The grande dining hall is not so grande in person, compared to the photos Aunt Cass had shown him in his hospital bed. It had probably been taken a long time ago. There seems to be a fine layer of grime coating every surface. The chandelier is missing its shine, the wall paper is peeling, and the floor boards are dull. The entire house, in fact, is dull. Tadashi tries not to mind other details than the dirt. They mostly aren't there for luxury in the first place. They are there to "get away" for a while. To "rest", "refesh", "recover" from the huge fire back at SFIT- the giant catastrophe. It's ridiculous, really, Tadashi could be getting work done. But, Aunt Cass had insisted, and Tadashi isn't one to whine. Hiro is.

Hiro, his bonehead little brother with black bushy hair, a little tooth gap, a feminine face, and a skinny, not even really considered lanky, body. He could flash Tadashi that look- the one where he peers up at his _nii-san_ through thick lashes and pouts his girlish peach lips- and all could be well again. Not this time.

Why he's really mad at his little brother, he isn't so sure. Maybe it's misplaced anger. Maybe if Hiro had let go of his arm at the showcase fire, he could have saved Callaghan. Maybe things could have been different.

Maybe Tadashi would have died.

Either way Tadashi angry, he wants to be angry at _something_ , and he, unfortunately for Hiro, has plenty of time and space for immaturity for the next few weeks- days- Cass had never specified how long they would be there. He only knows that the house came with a small laundry room and an endless supply of shampoos and body soaps and other nessessities.

Tadashi gets one heaping pile of dust and dirt together in the corner of the room, about to swipe it into the waiting pan when Hiro calls, "Hey 'Dashi! Aunt Cass! You should come see this!"

Tadashi has half a mind to ignore them, but his curiosity gets the better of him and then he's in the little blue family room, silently standing just a good few footsteps away from the other two, who goggle at what looks to be

"A door." Hiro hums.

 **(::)**

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 **There you are ;)**

 **So here is the first chapter! I hope it wasn't too painful! :)**

 **Please, please go easy with criticism- I'm mostly doing this for the fun of it, and not comepletely for the result. There will most defintitely be screw- ups, typos and spelling errors throughout the story because I am a crap writer who only really wants to get her crap ideas down, who is also currently writing this at 1:45 in the morning.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **-Jo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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 **(::)**

Tadashi stares while Hiro traces the outline of the small door of the little blue family room under his slender fingertips. The door seems to be covered with a thin layer of wallpaper, as though the last residents had wanted to pretend it was never there in the first place.

Aunt Cass returns to the little blue family room only after a few moments of rummaging through the kitchen drawer with all the house keys. Tadashi is about to question her on how she would know which one was for the small door, but then he sees it and he doesn't have to ask.

It is one of the most peculiar things- the button-shaped key. It is shiny black and long enough just to stretch across the palm, the butt of the metal forming a circle with four holes in the center. While he assumes that maybe it just is for decoration, he wonders if this only piques Hiro's interest.

Cass breaks past the thin wallpaper barrier keeping the door sealed with the teeth of the key before promply unlocking it, and she has to shake the door a few times to get it open. When it swings back to reveal what's inside, Hiro is disappointed. "What? Br-

 **(::)**

 _"-icks? Then why lock it up in the first place?" The small, spiky brown-haired, brown-eyed boy said._

 _His mother sighed while his little three-year-old sister tittered and gurgled behind him. "I don't know, Jackson. Maybe they had just decided to close that room up."_

 _Jackson eyed the door, unimpressed. He looked back up at his mother with accusation in his eyes, as though she were responsible for his dampened mood. "But-"_

 **(::)**

"-why is the door so small?"

"Huh." is all Aunt Cass offers her youngest nephew, "I dunno. Maybe it was a tiny storage room or...?"

"That doesn't make any sense." Aunt Cass gives a small shrug of her shoulders, and excuses herself to continue clearing the kitchen, black button key in hand. Hiro pouts to himself, but Tadashi decides to pay it no mind- while the door is oddly small, he thinks, it probably just led to the other parts of the house before it got divided into separate appartments. He leaves his little brother sitting in front of the small door in the small blue family room.

 **(::)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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 **(::)**

Mr. and Mrs. Bjorgman, family owners of the _Pink Palace_ appartments, give them a warm welcome with a large basket of sandwiches that make Tadashi's mouth water. Hiro hasn't come to the front door yet to greet their guests like Aunt Cass had called. He is probably still distracting himself with the little door. Tadashi invites them in like a gentleman, but the Bjorgmans just smile and tell him that they aren't staying very long. Aunt Cass very quickly joins them with the brightest smile she can muster and she somehow convinces them to sit in the grande dining room Tadashi had just swept. Mrs. Bjorgman apologizes profusely for the all the dirt.

"We haven't touched these rooms in a long time." She says sadly, but reassures them that they were at least able to clean the bathrooms, bed clothes, and appliances before their arrival. Aunt Cass smiles and takes the basket from her pale arms to set it on the dining table.

Mrs. Bjorgman and Aunt Cass get along very well, both with bubbly, quirky attitudes while her husband prefers to sit quietly, but he smiles every so often. Kristoff Bjorgman is large, with floppy blonde hair, doe eyes, and a large nose. While his shoulders are wide and strong, he handles his wife's petite figure with utmost care, his big arms or hands always wrapped around her own or draped across her shoulders.

Anna Bjorgman has strawberry blonde hair that she pulls into two twin braids that frame her small, delicate ears and high cheek bones. Despite her being maybe as old as Cass, her big blue eyes and freckled rosy cheeks and lips give her the sweet face of a young girl. She almost has no wrinkles save for the ones in the corners of her eyes. Tadashi thinks that must smile a lot. She is now, as she talks to his Aunt about her son, Sven, and how the _Pink Palace_ came into her possession. "It's a very old house. I'm not even so sure about its beginnings, but my father bought it for my mother when I was just a little girl. We grew up here."

Her expression is just a tad wistful when she says this, but she springs herself right back up to his Aunt's energy when she comments on how delicious the sandwiches smell. The older woman is twittering about her "famous" sandwiches when Tadashi hears her mention one of them being peanut butter and a really delectable sort of jam from somewhere in-

Tadashi very politely mentions his little brother's allergy to peanuts. The older woman sighs and says it's a shame. It really is good, she tells him, but there are some other of her favorites in the basket that she makes with a special mustard and-

Hiro comes into the room, all cheeky, gap-toothed grins, and Mrs. Bjorgman goes silent.

They introduce themselves, of course, but not with nearly the same amount of enthusiam as before. The conversation picks back up with Kristoff, who asks Hiro how he is and how old he is, and what he wants to be when he's older.

"I...thought you said you had two boys in college over the phone?" Anna chuckles nervously in response to Hiro's meek answers of "fourteen". Tadashi even feels slightly offended for his brother, even if he knows Mrs. Bjorgman is a kind lady. If Aunt Cass senses her discomfort, she doesn't show it as she hugs tiny Hiro to her chest and calls him her "little prodigy" who is going to attend _San Fransokyo's Institute of Technology_ with his _nii-san_ Tadashi when they return home. Mrs. Bjorgman only looks deadly pale as Aunt Cass sends Hiro off with the basket of sandwiches to place on the kitchen counter.

Anna Bjorgman looks like she's very frantic to tell Cass and Tadashi something when Kristoff takes her hand with a tight-lipped smile and bids the Hamadas a good evening.

 **(::)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone!~**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **(::)**

For some stupid reason Tadashi decides to wake early the first morning at the _Pink Palace_ even after staying up late into the night unpacking his bag into his dresser and nightstand, setting up his bulletin board and homework at the tiny, dusty desk pushed off into the corner of the room, ignoring his little brother's insistent knocks on his door and jiggle of the knob, finding a suitable outlet for baymax's charging station, _and_ finding out a way to keep it from frying out their power. He thinks that maybe he has the time to take a look at the faulty water heater he'd seen in one of the many rooms downstairs, but the healing burns on his arms protest against his every move.

So Tadashi only applies ointment to his injuries as he looks over his things to make sure everything's in order. He shuffles some of his papers around on the creaky old desk and adds a few reminders of what work and research has to be done before he gets back to school on the small whiteboard he has secured in the top left corner of the flaky cork surface. To the side of his work space he has the picture of him and his parents before the car accident that took their lives when Hiro was around three years old. Normally he would keep from taking the framed treasure anywhere, but he needed the comfort. Tadashi kept all his belongings out in what felt like a display, unlike the closed tidyness he always maintained back at home.

He kind of liked having his own room. Just for once, for a little while.

"Tadashi?" There's a quiet rap of knuckles on wood. Apparently Tadashi isn't the only one up so early. "Hey. I'm hungry. We should make Aunt Cass breakfast."

Tadashi isn't very hungry, and knows that by going down he would be doing most of the cooking, as Hiro had never cared to learn to, but he consdiered the idea. Aunt Cass would definitely appreciate the favor.

But then Hiro takes another meek tap at his door, and Tadashi decides to brush off his little brother's pestering. He does not knock again, and probably goes downstairs to grab one of the sandwiches from the welcoming basket from the Bjorgmans. That's what both Tadashi and Aunt Cass do when they finally come out of their rooms. Hiro is no where in sight and Tadashi recalls the faint sound of the front door opening and closing very shortly after the youngest had been rejected. This worries Tadashi slightly. Mrs. Bjorgman had briefly mentioned a really deep well not too far off from the garden. He hoped Hiro would keep away from there.

Tadashi busies himself with Baymax, who he has following him around so that he could take note of what should be improved or modified; there are no materials or room available to really work on his bot, but he could at the very least study him. Every time they cross the hall Baymax will stop in front of the hallway mirror and gaze blankly into his own reflection.

"My scanners are detecting signs of... distress." Tadashi jotts this down in his notebook.

 **(::)**

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;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

~~~~(::)~~~~

They don't see Hiro around until noon, and the boy is babbling about a fat "feral" cat following him around since he found it at the old deep well Mrs. Bjorgman was talking about while Baymx treats the poison oak Hiro has found on his pink-red palms and the scrapes on his skinny legs. The fat calico cat sits by his side almost _dutifully_ as Hiro gobbles down the last ham sandwich and the last of his lemonade and Baymax tells Hiro that the "hairy baby" is in need of grooming, or could potentially expose Hiro to ticks and fleas. Aunt Cass makes Hiro keep the cat outside unless he chooses to wash it.

The cat cannot, or rather, _will_ not come with them as they go downstairs to meet the neighbors, a pair of retired actresses with a multitude of ugly, bald chihuahuas. The things yap and knaw at Tadashi's socks and pant legs when they're seated at their ladies' musty couch.

The sisters are less than pleasant, with pale make up and blue eyeshadow and nasty attitudes. The shorter, stouter of the two, Ursula, has fire truck red lips, a bursting chest, and swirled white hair. The tall, sickly thin one with defined collar bones, Morgana, has fluffier hair and settles for magenta lips, which she actually touches up at the table in front of them. Ursula disgusts Tadashi with her sticky sweet, passive-agressive compliments to Aunt Cass while her sister openly stares at his little brother with interest. He gets shivers down his spine and quickly grows annoyed with the women when she asks Hiro how old he is. Tadashi answers for him, making sure to keep the defense out of his husky tone (the patient guy he is), "Fourteen."

"Fourteen, huh?" Morgana snickers to herself, then sneers, "Mrs. Anna Bjordman almost never lets families with children rent out the _Pink Palace_."

Ursula interupts her sister by asking Aunt Cass how she keeps her figure when she runs a cafe. Morgana barks a laugh at Ursula and crosses her stick legs before Cass can answer, forgetting about the matter, "You couldn't lose any weight if you tried."

The older one scoffs. "And you couldn't _gain_ any, sister."

Aunt Cass excuses them quietly under her breath and ushers her boys out the door, leaving the women to bicker. Neither nephew bothers to remind Aunt Cass of the second neighbor they have yet to meet, Dr. Facilier, who lives upstairs. She doesn't seem to want to meet him.

 **(::)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

After breakfast the next morning, Hiro announces that he's going back to the old well. He wants to see how deep it is. Tadashi, forgetting for one moment that he's angry with Hiro, remembers the rashes on little _otōto's_ palms- the scrapes on his knees, and warns him that the well is dangerous. In another circumstance, Tadashi feels that maybe his little brother would have been a little relieved to have them speaking to each other again. Right then, however, Hiro only looks annoyed, a grimace marring his soft features. But Aunt Cass agrees with Tadashi and suggests that Hiro just stay within the confines of the house and garden.

"Why don't you explore?" She asks, handing the littlest nephew a pencil and paper. "You know, count the windows and doors. Or how many color flowers there are...We're going to be here a while. Might as well get familiar."

Hiro leaves with a grumble of, "fine" and a fat calico cat on his heels. Tadashi thinks to have Baymax tail him as well, but then remembers his bot's slow toddle and realizes that energetic Hiro would not have the patience to wait for him. Tadashi adds to his notes that a faster bot would make a better healthcare companion in emergency situations, then keeps Baymax deactivated in his charging station. He informs Aunt Cass of the robot's presence should she have any need or trouble in the kitchen before he takes his leave.

Hiro seems dedicated to his task, as throughout the day Tadashi can see him in the corner of his eye studying the very structure and shape, basic architecture of the _Pink Palace_. He had always been precise in his work, with a keen eye for any and all detail. While the youngest went off on his own, Tadashi went off to the garden for fresh air to see Mrs. Anna Bjorgman tending to the many tulips. He takes his seat next to her on the soil. "Would you like some help?"

Anna jumps, then laughs, "I would love the help, thank you."

Minutes later Tadashi has on his lucky hat to block out the sun from his eyes and a pair of gloves to keep his hands clean. He doesn't have to do much talking; Anna fills the still air with her chatter. "Excuse me, I heard about your burns- we wouldn't want them to get infected! I actually know this man in town who makes his own treatment. I'd be glad to pick some up for you! Oaken is a good friend of mine and would probably give me a discount."

Because the skin of his hands are still a bit blistered and sensitive, she only has him to hold things, or water, or prune off wilted leaves. "I'm sorry I left so rudely the other night. I just have some bad memories of that house, is all. I tend to get anxious. I'm not typically such a paranoid person, you know."

Tadashi has no idea what she's talking about.

"I had an older sister when I lived here. Elsa. She was a little younger than Hiro. _Oh_ , I remember her being _so_ beautiful!" She gets that same wistful look she had on the night they'd arrived.

I _had_ an older sister _. She was_ a little younger _. I remember her being-_ was this sister of hers...

"I wish I'd gotten to know her better. She spent a lot of her time alone. A quiet girl." Anna looks him dead in the eye and it scares him so terribly he has to pause or he'll flood her vegtables.

 **(::)**

 _"Elsa! Come out and play jump rope with me!" Elsa ignored the elated cries of the little strawberry-haired sister that shook her shoulder, wanting to stay put in the little blue family room, closest to the little door. Blue was her favorite color. She mumbled softly, brushing out the lose platnium locks of the button-eyed doll, "Anna, I'm busy."_

 _"Whoa." Anna crooned down the collar of Elsa's fine blue jacket. "Where did you get that? It looks just like you."_

 _"I found it by the well."_

 _"...It's creepy" young Anna blurted, suddenly uneasy. "And I thought you were 'too old for dolls'."_

 _She watched her older sister shrug before twisting the doll's hair into a tight bun identical to her own._

"She disappeared the summer she turned twelve."

...dead?

 **(::)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guest: ;)**

 **Samantha Peace HeartStar: I couldn't agree more! I love the idea of Coraline, and one of my favorite Disney Characters ever is Hiro Hamada :) next to Flynn Rider. I'm rather fond of the Frozen sisters as well. So why not combine them all?**

 **Thank you for your reviews!**

 **Chapter 7**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro tromps into the garden with the calico cat not so gracefully after this terrifying revelation, large steps practically begging for attention. Tadashi wipes his face of the dumbfounded expression it wears- it's probably very rude to gape anyway- but can't do anything about the sickening numbness of his mind at the discovery that a little girl, Anna's older sister, could have been kidnapped or killed some decades ago at this very house. Strangely enough, Anna has gone quiet, fearful again at he sight of his little brother. She recovers, but only for a moment because her eyes widen when she catches sight of something in Hiro's grasp, and with a tight, firm voice she does not greet him but instead asks, "Hiro. Where did you get that?"

The more demanding tone from the petite woman startles the two boys.

So when Tadashi turns to look, his attention is brought down to Hiro's side, where he has clutched in his right hand- a doll. The younger boy slowly brings it up next to his face so that Tadashi can fully see it. The doll has messy black hair and a lightly tanned, skinny body. Its two black button eyes remind him more of gaping empty holes, and the smile stitched across its face is so faint it looks like it's supposed to be a secret. It looks just like the smallest Hamada. Tadashi is taken aback at the doll's appearance, skin crawling. Anna is horrified. Hiro answers shyly, "Dr. Facilier gave it to me. You know, the neighbor from upstairs?"

"Is that... a voodoo doll?" Tadashi gets shivers down his spine and dread pools low in his stomach. He gets the oddest sense of being watched.

"Uh. I don't _think_ so?" Hiro says, his mouth a jar open and showing his tooth gap, reminding Tadashi of just how _young_ and _vulnerable_ he is. His chills return. Maybe he shouldn't let Hiro wonder off alone anymore, not if a creep who makes dolls of children is living upstairs. "It's freaky, isn't it?"

And then Tadashi is angry, and very paranoid.

"You stay away from him, you understand?" Is all he can say, his mind going back to Anna's older sister- _disappeared. Kidnapped. Killed._

"You haven't even met him." Hiro scratches behind his neck, a nervous habit of his, but does not defend the man further, only rolls his eyes. He gets a small frown, "Mrs. Bjorgman, are you alright?"

The woman gives him a weary grimace that Tadashi thinks is supposed to be a smile. She looks like she's going to be sick, pallid and sweating. "I'm just a little bit under the weather. In fact, it's getting chilly. Why don't you two go back inside? I'll clean up here."

Tadashi and Hiro reluctantly collect themselves to return to Aunt Cass when Anna grabs Tadashi's arm lightly and gives him a look. Hiro is out of hearing range but she whispers in his ear anyways. "Make sure he's sleeping well and safe at night, will you?"

Tadashi gives her a small nod, but can't say anything. She visibly relaxes, let's him go, and turns her back on him so that he cannot see her face. "Thank you for your help Tadashi. You two take care."

 **(::)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

"Does Mrs. Bjorgman hate me or something?"

Tadashi does not answer, and Hiro is left to grumble to himself.

Tadashi takes the doll from the fluffy-haired teen to examine it closely as they trudge together into the kitchen. Upon further inspection he only finds frayed hands and knotted ends. It seems to be a very old doll, but with the bushy hair, purple t-shirt, blue hoodie, and tan shorts? It couldn't be a coincidence. He lays- tries so very hard not to chuck- the doll onto the kitchen counter as Hiro goes to find Aunt Cass. He diverts his eyes from the doll to the lunch their Aunt has set out for them. The last sandwich is cut up into three fractions on a large plate in the middle of the table, and there are three tall glasses of lemonade and a vegetable stir-fry, steaming hot, next to it. It smells delicious, but Tadashi has lost his appetite.

"He's a total freak, Aunt Cass." Hiro is back in the kitchen. Tadashi is so shaken up that he can't even laugh at the way his little brother's voice cracks.

"That's not nice, Hiro." Aunt Cass interjects, but Tadashi detects some amusement. "Maybe he's just... eccentric?"

"No, no, he's right. Look what he gave Hiro, today." Tadashi snatches the thing from the counter and tosses it at his Aunt. "What is this?"

"A welcoming present." Tadashi scowls and crosses his arms, leaning his back against he counter. Auntie gives him a tiny smirk, knowing Tadashi to get over protective of Hiro sometimes. But then she traces the features of the doll again, and understands. "Did Dr. Facilier make this for you?"

Her weariness is obvious, and Hiro throws his arms up into the air and rolls his eyes again, exasperated. "I don't know! It's not even that big of a deal- I mean, it's just a toy."

Tadashi sighs. "You did say he was a creep, didn't you?"

" _You_ said he was a creep. I said he was a freak. Two different things."

Tadashi can tell Aunt cass is unnerved by the doll, because she pushes it off to the side and refuses to look at it. She sits herself down at the table. "What's he like?"

Hiro sits next to her. He looks uncomfortable, scratching his neck and looking up at Tadashi nervously, as if he doesn't know how he'd react to what he was going to say. "He's just weird. He kept telling me about his _'friends on the other side'_ and how they told him about all of us. He read my tarots-"

"You _went inside_ his house-"

"-and my tea leaves-"

" _-and accepted food?_ "

"-'Dashi, he's not dangerous-"

" _Unbelievable_ -"

"Unbelievable!" Hiro pushes out of his chair and grabs the doll. He rushes out of the room in a fury of stomps of his feet, the remaining two sitting quite awkwardly at the table.

 **(::)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro arrives at Tadashi's door late at night hours after the very tense lunch Tadashi shared with Aunt Cass. Even though he knocks, he enters before the older brother can even think to ignore him.

"Hey." He says sheepishly, keeping the door wide open behind him. The cat isn't with him, but he has the Hiro doll hanging by a small arm from his fingers. He doesn't apologize for running out at lunch earlier, or upsetting Aunt Cass by skipping dinner, too. Tadashi has always known Hiro to be bad at saying sorry, but the scrawny boy stands in front of him with a truce hiding behind his casual voice. He holds the doll in front of his own face. "You know, you're right. The doll _is_ kinda creepy."

Tadashi almost runs his hand down his cheeks. He's too tired for this, and his back ached from staying crouched in the garden for so long earlier that day. So his response is a small sigh he's not sure Hiro even hears.

"Do you really think made it himself?" Hiro tries again.

Tadashi still does not answer.

"He said he found it this way. But he probably made it."

"..."

"...I'll stay away from there, if you really want me to..."

For a few beats more, the boys stand in stillness.

Then Hiro explodes- " _Oh, for the love of_ \- Tadashi, what, are you just not going to talk to me? You were fine with it a few hours ago just to nag me!"

Tadashi distracts himself with his notes.

"Hey! _I'm talking to you!_ " Tadashi glares at his brother to be quiet because Aunt Cass might be sleeping already, but Hiro doesn't stop. "Is this about what happened back at SFIT?"

"That's enough, Hiro." He finally says. His little brother falters for a second.

"No! Did you even stop to think that if you'd gone into the building you would've died?"

"Hiro, stop." Tadashi shakes.

" _Dead_ , Tadashi! You would've been dead- you wouldn't have been able to save _anyone!_ "

"Shut _up_!" Tadashi throws down his notebook. He can hear Baymax inflate behind him. Hiro trembles for a moment, the brothers staring each other down and the robot is asking if there is any trouble and if he can be of any assistance and if he can take Tadashi's blood pressure and _on-a-scale-of-one-to-ten-how-would-you-rate-_ Tadashi flinches when the younger of the two turns his head away before hurling the doll at his chest and fleeing the room with a _slam_ of the door.

"Go check on Hiro." He tells Baymax in a short mumble, and picks the doll up from the floor to place it on his nightstand. He thinks his mind is playing tricks on him, because the doll's smile seems to be more apparent, and it sneers at him through its button eyes while he tries to sleep.

 **(::)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Tadashi only finishes dressing and brushing his teeth when he remembers that the doll is in his room. He thinks that he can feel its large black eyes burning into the back of his head, but when he turns around he's surprised to see that the toy is not sitting patiently on his nightstand where he'd left it last night with his pain killers and medications and vitamin C supplements, but all the way across the room on the rickety desk among all of his papers. It is facing the old cork board with his reminders and notes, his open textbook, and most unsettling- it stares down the photograph of him and his parents, Mr and Mrs. Hamada.

He turns the photograph away.

Picking up the doll and leaving the room, he eyes the mini-Hiro in his palms as he navigates through the _Pink Palace's_ hall, and he can't help it as he feels a twinge of guilt about last night. Baymax looms over his shoulder, even pulls the big brother's chair out for him to sit on when he gets to the dining table where Aunt Cass is setting their breakfast. Hiro is not present.

Contrary to what people might assume of his irresponsible, restless little brother, Hiro actually makes habit of waking up particulary early in the mornings to finish whatever project he's working on. Tadashi wonders if this stunts his growth, what with Hiro staying out with his shinanigans late into the night and waking up early to make up for the time wasted. "Where's Hiro?"

"Oh, he must still be sleeping." Aunt Cass says over her back, the sizzle of bacon almost over powering her voice. She shakes her head in amusement. "That boy, I swear, I heard him running around at, like, three in the morning!"

Tadashi raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. Hiro was probably just taking his nervous energy and agitation out on the busted television again.

They decide to let the little Hamada sleep in, and he finally enters the room when they're about finishing off their breakfast, looking a little lost. He walks past his brother's seat to get to his chair, and Tadashi is confused when he thinks that he gets a whiff of the scent of barbeque and chili clinging to Hiro's pajamas. The calico cat Ms. Hamada has actually let inside mewls and cuddles up to him. Baymax waddles up to the younger one as usual for the morning, asking to scan Hiro to keep tabs on his healing scrapes and poison oak from the second day. Hiro hesitates and says yes. Baymax scans him. The skin between Tadashi's eyebrows crease immediately.

"It appears that your injuries are completely healed, and without scarring," if a robot can be surprised, Baymax is. "You have been a good boy. Have a lollipop, but I suggest on eating breakfast, first."

Hiro takes the lollipop and tucks it into his hoodie pocket. He does not help himself to breakfast.

"Sweetie? Are you feeling okay?" Aunt Cass asks, bringing hers and Tadashi's plates to the kitchen sink. "Why don't you eat ? I made chorizo and omeletes!"

Hiro looks concentrated on something else, and it's the doll Tadashi has forgotten he'd even brought down with him. He picks it up with cautious hands and has to keep it away from the cat as it paws and hisses at it. "I'm, uh, not hungry... I ate a lot last night... Mochi, what is your _problem_?"

Mochi (Tadashi has chosen to ignore the fact that Hiro had even thought to name the cat) seems very upset, yowling at Hiro and baring its teeth when the doll is brought close to the boy's chest in protection. Tadashi interjects, the smokey smell on Hiro's pjs arguing against him. "No you didn't. You skipped dinner last night. And lunch."

Hiro just rolls his eyes at him. "Whatever. I'm going upstairs. Thanks for breakfast anyway, Aunt Cass."

 **(::)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Tadashi creeps up the stairs with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate to his brother's room later after dinner that night, knocking on the old door three beats and letting himself in. He isn't used to knocking because of how they've shared a room most their lives. He finds Hiro scribbling furiously in his notebook, and Tadashi's about to open his mouth when he notices the wall that Hiro's bed is pushed up against on it's side. "Wow." is all he can say, and Hiro jumps a foot in the air.

 _"What?"_ Hiro hisses when he realizes that it's him. "You gave me a heart attack!"

Tadashi is still marvelling up at his brother's wall. "Just...wow. Are you _mapping_ this entire place?"

Stretching far and wide across Hiro's wall are layouts of, so far, half of the building looking down from above so that one could see into every hall and room and where they led, save for the smaller details of the neighbors' appartments. It looks almost like blueprints, and Hiro even has smaller notes off to the side of each room such as

 _-Twelve leaky windows_

 _-12 digusting bugs!_

 _-one rusty old water heater_

Tadashi is weirded out when he comes over to where Hiro is seated on his bed, and he gets flash of his notebook- a sketch of a thin column with markings on either side that indicate a door. His brother snaps his book closed. His voice is gruff. "Is there something you need?"

"I just wanted to say sorry. For yesterday." Tadashi admits, and hands his little brother a mug. And while the younger one takes it, his resolve didn't give, and he doen't meet his brother's eyes. Tadashi resists the urge to laugh at Hiro's stubborness. It would only make him madder. It's only when Tadashi is getting up to leave, feeling that his presense isn't welcome, when Hiro speaks.

"Hey Dashi." His voice is soft, nervous. "What were Mom and Dad like?"

Tadashi is surprised, and sits back down next to him. Hiro almost never asks about his parents. "Um. You... you look like mom. She had a rounder nose than Dad and I. You have her eyes, too, but you have Dad's hair. Why do you ask?"

"Just..." Hiro mumbles. He brings his knees up to his chest. "I think I dreamt of them last night. Sorta. Do you have a picture of them or...?"

"Yeeeah... One second." Tadashi ignores the unreasonable shivers down his spine and fetches the frame from his room. He returns to his brother, who's wearing his bottom lip between his tooth gap. "Is this what they looked like in your dream?"

Spooked, Hiro swallows. "Yeah. _Exactly_ like that."

"What happened?"

"It wasn't, like, a _bad_ dream. But it was weird. All of you- Aunt Cass, Mom, Dad-had button eyes. They made me barbeque for dinner and gave me medicine for my poison oak and cuts." He shrugs.

"Button eyes?" His mind instantly goes to the doll, which Hiro has perched on a tall chair next to his bed, as if it were watching over everything.

Hiro looks uneasy and sets his hot chocolate and notebook down. "Mom told me she was my 'other mother.' Or something."

Tadashi is silent for a minute, not really knowing what to make of this, but Hiro doesn't make him ponder on it for long, as the shorter one ushers him out of the room with a small, heartmelting smile. "Yeah, but it's probably nothing. Thanks for the hot chocolate, 'Dashi."

 **(::)**

 _"Yeah! She called herself the 'other mother' and she had this room for me that was just for painting and crafts and instruments! She let me paint on the walls and she made me breakfast for dinner and taught me how to bake and cook and knit and she made me this really pretty purple dress..." The little girl with honey-blonde locks beamed, green eyes bright and sparkling like lanterns. Her enthusiasm was short-lived, however, and she deflated. "Mommy? Are you listening?"_

 _Ms. Gothel gave an apologetic smile to her lover as he was seated at their dining table, only before throwing the little one an annoyed scowl. She placed a hand on the small of her daughter's back to slowly guide her out of the room and say lowly in her ear. "Don't be so ungrateful, my flower. We don't have enough money for instruments, you most definitely_ cannot _paint on our walls, I'll think about buying you a new dress, we can cook and bake and knit and blah, bla-blah, bla-blah later, and I'd be able to make you breakfast_ now _if you wanted it that badly but I'm busy with something important right now."_

 _With that she pushed Rapunzel into the hall for her to find her way to her bedroom on her own, but the child stayed near, peering into the dining room as her mother strutted over to the man with slicked back hair and sat in his lap with a sultry smile. "I'm sorry, dear. You know how kids are."_

 _Her mother rolled her eyes, and Rapunzel had to look away when the pair kissed. She liked her other mother much more. Even with her funny button eyes._

 **(::)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Um, crap~**

 **I forgot to mention that in this AU, they do not have Mochi the cat back at San Fransokyo.**

 **so yeah ~**

 **Thank you for your reviews!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro speaks of another dream the next day with much more enthusiam. Mochi is brooding, if a cat can even brood. Aunt Cass is only half listening as she juggles pancakes in a hot pan. The doll sits by Hiro's side at the table, sinister black eyes watching. Baymax pushes Hiro to eat the orange he has on his plate before eating anything too heavy. Tadashi is annoyed, and a little worried. It's not common for children to dream of their dead parents after all of these years, right?

Hiro had always known how his parents looked, had always known what they were like, how smart they were, what they were passionate about, their work, how much they had loved the two of them before they'd gone- everything that Aunt Cass and Tadashi could tell him when he was young. But Hiro had never known them _as his parents_ \- he had even told Tadashi so.

When his little brother had asked to see the photo of his parents, Tadashi had been excited, but hearing his little brother refer to this stranger _(imposter)_ in his head as his _mother_ \- something, someone that wasn't as real as the warmth and love Tadashi had known as a child made him uncomfortable. And sad. Maybe even betrayed.

But Hiro ignores his breakfast ( _"I'm not that hungry"_ ) and speaks of this other world behind the little door in the little blue family room where he had stuffed himself with the most delicious smoked salmon, where the _other_ Ursula and _other_ Morgana are young and kind and have their own theatre just downstairs, where the green house and garden out back is instead a giant planetarium, where he has his living other mother, father, Cass,

 _Tadashi._

Ouch.

Honestly, how is he supposed to feel? Facinated? Offended? Why does he _need_ another brother? Hiro grins up at him, eager to tell him all about his night in his dreams,

" _she had this room for me that was just for painting and crafts and instruments! She let me paint on the walls and she made me breakfast for dinner and taught me how to bake and cook and knit and she made me this really pretty purple dress..."_

and he looks so happy that Tadashi is able to will away this pain and smile back.

Of course, they're just dreams, Tadashi tells himself, they aren't dangerous.

 **(::)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro protests against Tadashi's wishes to have Baymax scan Hiro for how many breakfasts the boy had started missing.

The robot sees no problem in Hiro's diet. In fact Hiro had gained three pounds.

But to both their confusion, he comments on Hiro's lack of sleep.

 **(::)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

"So... you like dolls now?" Tadashi asks skeptically when he finds the smallest Hamada in the small blue family room by the small door in the house. When Tadashi had walked in, the youngest was doing nothing but staring at the toy.

 _Blue was once her favorite color._

Hiro gives him a scowl, and turns his back on him. Tadashi is startled by the apparent frown he could make out on the doll's face.

Late that night when almost everyone should be tucked into the safety of their beds, Tadashi hears the shuffle of his brother's feet down the stairs in the middle of the night, and thinks nothing of it.

 **(::)**

* * *

 **Happy Holidays, everyone!**


	15. Chapter 15

**This is just** _ **really**_ **late advice... to anyone reading this, it's probably a good idea to watch** _ **"Coraline",**_ **either for the first time or to refresh your memory. :D**

 **Special thanks to sananwind3, AppleSpongeCake, TheAwkwardOtaku, Guests, rat, Samantha Peace HeartStar, Azumadew, and Ravelt Knightwalker for your reviews!**

 **Chapter 15**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro talks about another dream while fiddling with the toy in his calloused hands, this time about him, Other Dashi and "Dad" starting on a robot together. It's supposed to be another Baymax, with, _surprise_ , button eyes. Mochi keeps trying to steal the doll from his grasp, and occasionally hisses when Hiro brings it too close, but he sticks stubbornly by the boy's side. Tadashi feels he can understand Mochi's hatred for the doll when he sees the weird attachment his brother is growing to it. Hiro even takes to calling it "Chibi-me". The little brother and cat leave with Chibi Hiro in hand, and Tadashi is left to think of the entire house mapped up on Hiro's bedroom wall. Surely, the boy would be out of rooms to explore by now.

So where has his little brother been disappearing off to?

"Tadashi! Help put laundry away!" Aunt calls up the stairs later while the older brother lounges up in his room. Tadashi gets up from his green bed sheets to do that.

When he gets back up the creeky stairs with a pile of Hiro's and his own clothes, he easily pushes into his little brother's empty room. Hiro has left his old notebook on his bed.

Does he dare?

He does.

Because even if Tadashi is a respectful young man, he is also an older brother. Tadashi sets down his chores and flips through creased pages and girlish neat writing, lowly chuckling at flashes of sketches of Mochi. He grows confused upon reaching a nearly identical layout of the house he already has hugging his wall.

 _Nearly_ being the key word.

"What the...?

Hiro had spoken of a planetarium, a theatre, and a workshop in the attic of the _Pink Palace_ of his dreams. In this design, this _other version_ of the house, he has an intricate drawing of an enormous building taking up the garden space, a grand stage within the enlarged space of the downstairs neighbors' living room. On the third floor of the house, the attic held a long, wide table and workbenches and 3D printers and tools. The man flips the page over, and is slightly horrified of the five people standing there, side by side, like a family portrait.

Aunt Cass and his mother stand next to each other to the left of the fourteen-year-old, Cass wearing chicken-shaped oven mits, an apron, and a blue chef's hat. The mother is wearing the exact same clothes as she was in Tadashi's picture: a lime sweater and blue jeans. She has a smooth green pendant hanging from her neck on a fine silver chain. They both have button eyes. Tomeo, their father, along with himself, stand to the right of Hiro. Other Father sports a lavender polo, and Other Tadashi a green t-shirt much like the one he wears to sleep. He has a possessive arm draped over his brother's scrawny shoulders. They both have button eyes. In the middle Hiro has drawn himself grinning. No button eyes. This is Hiro's other world.

Tadashi's eyes linger on button-eyed Tadashi, feeling sick to his stomach.

He hears his own breath hitch when Hiro's footsteps start bounding up the stairs. In a split second the older brother has the book flicked shut and on the bed where he'd found it, and the bundle of folded clothes back in his arms, nagging the younger one to sort his and put it away. He's out the door in record time.

 **(::)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

In the evening, after dinner, Tadashi can't bear the thought of his brother again disappearing into the confines of his room, only to sneak around the halls in the middle of the night. He isn't so sure of what Hiro does with his time, but he feels as though he hardly sees the young boy, reminding him of the days when Hiro still went to bot fights (which wasn't even that long ago). It's unnerving not knowing what exactly his troublesome brother is up to, but Tadashi still wants to be careful to give Hiro his space. Even if he really would gladly smother him.

"Hey," Tadashi lingers by the frame of his little brother's door. "I was _finally_ able to get the T.V working. Wanna go downstairs and watch a movie or something? I brought the inflatable matress with me, we can just sleep down there tonight."

Hiro smirks and puts his journal down. Tadashi briefly wonders what else his kid brother could be adding to his other world. "What, like a slumber party?"

Tadashi grins back, "Sure, if you want."

He surely thinks that Hiro is going to say yes, who even opens his mouth to do so, but then he's contemplative, and gives his older brother a guilty, sheepish smile. "Uh. Sorry. I don't think I should."

Tadashi leans against the frame, a little disappointed and embarrassed. His brother has rejected him. "Oh? Why not?"

"I have to... I need to get to sleep. I'm just really-" He fakes a yawn. Tadashi raises a thick brow- "just really tired. Maybe tomorrow?"

Tadashi shrugs, gives a small "sure," and leaves the room. He could always watch a movie by himself. His nose scrunches at the thought and instead opts to work on his beloved healthcare companion. The robot has minor problems, such as activating in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and still stopping to, _trying_ to scan and treat the hallway mirror because he had detected signs of life or distress. He also doesn't respond well to expressions and slang. He would have to fix that.

He's making great progress, but can't help but feel bummed. He misses Hiro. He misses sharing a room with his brother. And he feels ridiculous because he shouldn't be jealous of... he didn't know who or what to be jealous of, even, but he doesn't like the thought of Hiro running away to his dream land. To his button-eyed "family". He doesn't like the thought of this other world beyond the little door in the little blue family room, waiting for him every night to fall asleep.

Tadashi briefly thinks of button-eyed Tadashi.

He doesn't like the thought of sharing his little brother.

 **(::)**

 _"C'mon Momma!_ Please? _"_

 _"No means no, Jackson. Put it back." The woman busied herself with browsing through other parts of the store while carrying his baby sister. Pouting, the child set the blue hat back down in its place. He crossed his arms and scowled._

 _"My other mother would have gotten it for me."_

 _The woman nearly dropped his toddler sister, shocked, and slightly hurt, before she turned angry. Matching brown eyes blazing, she snapped, "Well, I'm not your other mother. So leave it!"_

 **(::)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

This time when Hiro talks about his dream at breakfast, it's like he speaks of actual people. His tone is fond, yet casual, like he's talking about an old friend. Tadashi hates it.

Shortly after, Tadashi goes outside to inspect a pile of mail that had somehow turned up at the front door. A sickly sweet stench seeps from the inside of the packaging, and Tadashi dosen't wish to know exactly what he's carrying as he brings the mix-up to the right address: Dr. Facilier, from upstairs. He knocks three times on the door.

"Hello? I think we got your mail!" He calls cautiously through the door. He almost just dumps the pile rudely into a heap on his welcome matt, but he refrains. Dr. Facilier was the creep who had given his little brother the doll, who's dark button eyes resemble Hiro's doodles and dreams far too much to make _anyone_ in the house comfortable.

"Hello. Tadashi, is it?" Says a low, smooth voice.

Tadashi jumps, dumping the pile into a heap on his welcome matt. Dr. Facilier doesn't pay the man's fumbling any mind, only reaching around him for his bony fingers to wrap around his doorknob and swing it open, using his foot to slide the mail inside. He turns to look at Tadashi properly, and gives him a sly smile. In his long, thin hands he plays with a thick deck of what looks to be tarot cards.

He certainly looks like a creep, Tadashi claims. He isn't anyone he'd want to see around his brother, with his purple vest and blazer several sizes so small that his belly peaks out, with his long, sunken face and crazed purple eyes. He wears a top hat with a skull and crossbones, along with a tooth-strung necklace. Like Hiro, he has a toothgap, but it's no where near as sweet or adorable as it is on his little brother. His tall, starved stature reminds him of slender man.

"I take it that little Hiro has told you of me? Have you come to get your tarots read?" He shuffles the cards some more. "How is the little man, anyway?"

"Hiro is fine." He resists the growl in his throat. "The mail got mixed up. That's it. It was nice to meet you. Have a nice day."

He nearly turns and disappears down the stairs from where he had come, but the older one stops him with, "Leaving so soon? We've barely spoken!"

"Yeah. Well, I have to get back."

"Just one moment." Dr. Facilier's expression hardens. "Your brother... he still has the doll?"

Tadashi freezes up. "Yes. He does."

"I need it back."

Tadashi sneers at him. "What for?"

The man swallows. "I... should not have given it to him. See-"

"Did you make it?"

"I found it that way. That's why I gave it to him."

 _Bullshit_. "Well. You're not getting it back. Sorry."

only gives a shrug of his bony shoulders. He confuses Tadashi when he says, "I tried. It's out of my hands now."

Tadashi is about to ask what he means by that, but then the other man sets him with this dead, eery, and serious expression, one that puts him on edge. "I do have a message, however. One that I would listen to, if I were you."

"A...message." Tadashi repeats flatly.

"I have friends...Mr. Hamada. In your house. Friends from the other side-" _This man is absolutely bonkers-_ "-and they fear for your brother's safety. They want you to make sure that Hiro does not go through the little door."

"...The _little door_?" Tadashi suddenly feels very, very cold.

"Yes. I, of course, would not know of such a thing." Dr. Facilier looks at him expectantly. "And you do?"

Tadashi is too numb to answer.

 _Disappeared. Kidnapped. Killed._

"Is this..." He finally manages. " _a threat?_ "

Tadashi is snarling, " _Some kind of fucking joke?_ "

Dr. Facilier doesn't get a word in- he isn't trying. He only watches calmly as the younger man loses his shit. "-You stay away from my brother, you hear me? _Stay the hell away from us!_ "

Tadashi disappears down the stairs from which he came.

 **(::)**

 **I know Dr. Facilier is evil. SO in this AU I made it so that he** _ **does**_ **try to put a stop to what is happening in the** _ **Pink Palace**_ **, but does so with** _ **very**_ **little effort, and doesn't really concern himself with what is about to unravel, and only giving Tadashi a fair single warning:**

 **Make sure that Hiro does not go through the little door.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Tadashi actually has to ask Hiro about his dreams the next morning, anxious as the boy does not ramble about them as usual. Hiro looks up at his older brother tiredly, but happily, and says,

"We baked cookies." and that's all there is to it. He doesn't go off on a tangent about how his Other Mother and Cass took him to see whatever show in the downstairs theatre, or how Other Dashi and Other Father gave Other Baymax wings and boosters that he can fly on. There is no magnificent dinner or party. He calls the button-eyed Hamada imposters "Mom" and "Dad". They just baked cookies and it's normal and sweet and Tadashi can very clearly smell sugar in his brother's messy hair and see the smudge of chocolate on his left sleeve. It terrifies him.

And so when no one is looking, Tadashi locks the little door in the little blue family room, and hides the key in his underwear drawer.

 **(::)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I found the notebook!**

 **Chapter 19**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Hiro is in a particularly horrible mood the next morning. Tadashi watches as he kicks away Mochi, who paws at his feet and gives Baymax a withering scowl when he asks if he may scan him. "Hiro, you seem to be better rested today."

Hiro only shovels into his mouth a spoonful of cornflakes. Within seconds he's having another serving. Tadashi finds his brooding adorable, but he is cautious. Hiro has not spoken yet and his mind can't help but flash back to the key he has burried in the depths of his least favorite boxers.

"Good morning boys! I was thinking we could have some time away from here. Maybe later I'll rent a car from the Bjorgmans so we can go into town. Does that sound good?" Aunt Cass comes in with a stack of pancakes that Hiro mostly ignores for his bowl of cereal. Tadashi quickly agrees.

Some hours later while Auntie Cass flitting around a small boutique, the brothers are off by themselves to get ice cream from a parlor that has gleaming white counters and a retro bar and juke box. He pays the pokerfaced gentleman in the red striped uniform in quarters. It's hardly the time for frozen dessert- with it being fall and with so much fog and murky skies. Hiro still digs into his strawberry and mintchip double scoop, while Tadashi watches his green tea melt and soak up his waffle cone. Chibi Hiro is not sitting idly in Hiro's palms. Baymax is not making ominous calls for suffering no-bodies in their hallway mirror. They are miles away from Facilier, the little door, Anna and her _Pink Palace,_ Mochi's eyes burning into his mind. Hiro is here in front of him, living, breathing, safe and Tadashi still feels like he's waiting for certain doom. It's like he can't take a breath.

"Did you have another dream?" He finds himself asking. It's killing him, he thinks.

Hiro stills, and flashes him a meaningful glance. "No, I couldn't."

Tadashi feels his heart drop when Hiro fishes something from the pocket of his worn, blue hoodie and holds it in front of his face, never breaking eye contact. He held the button key. "Wanna tell me why?"

What is big brother supposed to say?

"Why did you lock the door, Tadashi." Hiro has to demand, ice cream forgotten, because Tadashi has been opening and closing his mouth like a fish for too long.

"Listen... Hiro, I just-" _I don't know._

"I don't get it." Hiro sighs. There's no irritation set on his face like this morning (Tadashi suspects that it may be because he'd bought him ice cream), but his bony shoulders slump. In his hands he toys with the black key. "They're just _dreams._ They're not... dangerous. And you don't really believe in the stuff Dr. Facilier has been telling all of us, right? Like with all the tarrot and voodoo and his friends on the other side, right? Even Ursula and Morgana think he's nuts."

"...What?" Tadashi fights to keep a neutral expression on his handsome face. He hopes he isn't sweating. "What are you talking about?"

"He thinks the _Pink Palace_ is haunted and that he can commu-"

"No, I mean, what has he been telling you?"

"Oh. Yeah, yeah- uh. He told me he saw you yestersay, too. Just. He wanted me to be careful. He said the same thing when he read my cards and tea leaves."

"...Is that all?"

"Isn't that what he told you?"

Make sure that Hiro does not go through the little door. "Yeah."

"Then _what_ is your problem?"

"I just thought that you'd feel... safer. You spend so much time alone. Your dreams keep you from sleeping. I hardly even see you anymore."

Hiro avoids his gaze, looking guilty. He slowly tucks his hands and the key back into his pocket. "Oh. I didn't realize. I'm sorry."

"Yeah... but, this is nice, right? Just you and me. You're always off to somewhere, even back at home. Always looking for trouble." Tadashi grins and ruffles the boy's bouncy locks, and in return he gets a hopeful, sincere smile and shiny eyes the color of rootbeer lollipops.

 **(::)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

When the Hamadas returned to the Pink Palace, most everything was normal except that the air was a little lighter. Hiro scribbled in his notebook with Mochi and Little Hiro at his sides, Baymax was malfunctioning, Tadashi's burns were healing, and the giant stack of assignments on his desk was slowly halving itself by the hour.

Hiro sat in the little blue family room with purpose when Tadashi and Aunt Cass prepared to leave for the supermarket. Tadashi could still taste the green tea ice cream he hadn't finished, and he shared a grin with the little one before they left, sure to buy a pack of gummy bears with the extra few dollars he held in his back jean's pocket.

Like everyday, when they came back with arms full of paper grocerie bags, Hiro wasn't home, probably at the old well. Aunt Cass didn't mind his absence as long as Hiro didn't keep them waiting for too long. The family was to join in the kitchen for supper at around seven o'clock. Like everyday.

Except that it's dark outside, ten o'clock in the evening, and Hiro still is not home. Cass nibbles on her thumb. Tadashi is silent and frantic because the little door in the little blue family room is unlocked and bricked up, the neighbors haven't seen his otouto, the doll smiles, Mochi is yowling to the skies, and Hiro has the button key.

 **(::)**

 _"Rapunzel?" Ms. Gothel searched behind every peeling wall in the_ Pink Palace _. She upturned every pillow, ripped down every drape-no gold skin or hair- no big green eyes like limes to be found-_ where? _The halls were, dark, empty, ominous. With desperate, shallow breaths, on the line of her forehead she gathered every black tendril and ringlet into manicured hands and_ pulled _._

"Rapunzel!"

 **(::)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

("Actually, I came here to thank you. I would have come later tonight, but I couldn't wait.")

("...")

("We're leaving in a few days. I just thought it would be the right time to say goodbye. I think, with my brother, we can finally sort things out.")

("...")

("Listen, this is hard for me, too. I'm going to miss you guys so much...Please say something.")

("Oh, but Hiro, you don't have to leave.")

("...what?")

("You like it here, don't you?")

 _The child looked up with glittering blue irises. "Yes, I do."_

("You could stay, you know. There's just one _tiny little thing_ we have to do.")

 _"What's that?" The girl smiled. Mother tittered behind her hand and guided them into the dining room. The cream-haired child was seated in the center chair while Mother took the one to her right. The Others filled up the room, all sharing grins and joyous laughter. Mother then revealed a thin, ribboned box from under the table and glided it across shiny wood so that it lay directly in front of her._

("For you, our little doll.")

 _Elsa beamed, and removed the lid of the box eagerly_

 _and then gaped back up at them in horror._

("Buttons?")

("You can stay here, Hiro.")

("Whoa. Hey. No. I have to get back to my family.")

("But we are your family!")

("I-I can't!")

 _Jack covered his brown eyes in terror, as if to hide them from her. His whole body shook, watching her through his fingers. "I'm not letting you sew buttons into my eyes!"_

("-Oh, but we need a _yes_ , if you want to stay!")

("No. I have to leave.")

("Why don't you think it over?")

("No.")

(" _Hiro_...")

("Hey! T-that hurts! What're you- Let go of me!")

 _Rapunzel hiccuped._

 _"Mommy?"_

 **(::)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

Baymax wanders into the hallway amidst the chaos that has errupted at the Pink Palace.

He faces the mirror and pauses.

"Hiro is here."

 **(::)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **(::)**

Their rotten neighbors are for the most part, unhelpful. Dr. Facilier had offered him an unapologetic look and yet again appeared immune to Tadashi's empty threats, while the sisters from downstairs had given him overdone theatrics of "Oh! Where could he have gone!" and tried to feed him old salt water taffy. Tadashi and Cass stormed out of there as the old hags muttered to themselves over their lack of patience and "-the nerve to reject our hospitality! When it's already so late into the night!"

Anna, by far, was the worst of them. When they'd had her sat down at the creaky little kitchen table he'd informed her of his little brother's disapperance and she'd had paled like the rest of the times, so white that if she'd pressed herself flat against the peeling, yellowing wallpaper she'd disappear. She'd blubbered between her sobs for so long that she'd become nonsensical in her apologies. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry! It's happening again- I'm so sorry!"

Tadashi could tell it had upset Aunt Cass, and they'd called for Kristoff and sent Anna back trembling like a leaf and wrapped in a thin blanket.

They sit in stifling silence as the night slowly works it's way into the next morning. Though they'd called authorities for a missing minor, for now it is the most that can be done. They have all the lights they can get on in the house without blowing a fuse- the dark makes them restless, but they are still staked out in the kitchen and make no plans to move. From time to time, Tadashi hears Cass try to muffle a hiccup behind her hand, but he can't make his legs work to get her a glass of water or even comfort her. Eventually the men in uniform came back. No sign of the boy.

Since she's forbidden him to go out looking near the forest, near the well where it isn't safe, Tadashi is forced to wait with her. Wait for Hiro to come home, or wait for the sun to come up to search more, he isn't sure.

He doesn't like this. He doesn't like having to wait and stew in his own mind like this. It's making him feel phyiscally ill as he considers every possibility of where Hiro could be. This sort of fear is different from the one he'd felt caught in the panic of the SFIT showcase fire, where the roar of the flames and the crowds of people had become white noise to him and he'd hyperventilated from all the different things he was feeling and trying to process, when he'd suffocated from smoke and ash and not being able to think.

This was different. Deafly silent, numbing. He was not processing, thinking too much. He does not like this. He shut his eyes, trying to gather his bearings. They are in the middle of nowhere. His brother has not come back home. His baby brother could be dead. Disappeared. Kidnapped. Killed.

A thud sounds down the hall, and Cass' head snaps towards the door, tense. Her wide eyes stare it down in fear. Tadashi rises from his seat, heart thundering in his chest. His sight flickers to where the knives are, but the kitchen door opens to a large figure.

"Tadashi." Baymax's relaxing voice says. "There may be a problem with my sensors."

Tadashi releases a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, while Aunt Cass dissolves into a mess of gasps and pants. Baymax turns his attention to her and tries to inspect her closer. "You are experiencing shortness of breath, fear, and heart palpitations. Could it be that you are anxious?"

He scowls. Coming over to rub his poor Aunt's back as she calms down, he gives an exasperated huff. "Stop, Baymax."

"How may I help?"

" _Baymax._ " Tadashi scolds, but gives up. "Damn it. Scan the house. Is there anyone else here?"

Baymax tilts his head. "There are no new patients."

"Then what's wrong with your scanner?"

"I cannot find the source of distress."

"...What." Cold runs down his spine, but his voice stays hard and unsympathetic.

"My scanners are detecting signs of distress. I cannot find the patient, however."

"You seem stressed, Tadashi." Tadashi dug his thumbs into his eyes.

"I don't care Baymax. I'll fix that later." An idea comes to him as he looks to the robot with new found determination. "Baymax. Scan for Hiro."

Baymax tilts his head again. "Hiro is here. You cannot find him?"

Aunt Cass exhales loudly behind him, and he turns to give her a disbelieving stare. He looks back to the robot. "Where is he?"

Baymax make his way back out of the kitchen, this time Aunt Cass and Tadashi in tow. They walk down the long hall, and stop at the end in front of the old, dusty mirror. They wait, then Baymax says,

"Hiro is here."

 **(::)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 **(::)**

 _He stays there on the ground alone, long, long before anyone else would come to know this place of his, fingers bloodied and torn apart before he'd started to lose feeling over his body. He's forgotten the pain but it's no relief._

 _He's forgotten his mother and baby sister._

 _He forgets everything but the cold and the dark._

 **(::)**

Despite the sickening feeling in his gut, Tadashi falls asleep at the kitchen table. He must have not been asleep for long because when he wakes, it's still dark out.

But there's a crick in his neck and his vision and head are foggy. Mochi the cat is pawing at his face, the slight scratch of his nails catching on the stubble growing there. He tries to bat him away with a small grunt. But Mochi is relentless, so he gets up.

He squinted, eyes still not cooperating. Mochi is looking at him before his patterned fur disappears into the opening door indicating his stalk into the next room. Tadashi follows.

Before he knows it he is walking down the hall, Mochi waiting at the end of the intricate rug. Didn't they leave the lights on? Why is it so dark? Tadashi resists rubbing at his eyes, feeling unreasonably unsettled at not being able to see even if for a second. It's cold, but he doesn't think that's why his hair is standing on end.

"What is it?" He whispers once he gets in front of the mirror. Mochi places a paw on the clear surface, and Tadashi is reluctant to look up at his reflection.

Except there isn't one. Alarms blare in his head and he's staring into darkness before the face of his own brother slowly appears, his face pale blue, agape in horror as he pounds from the other side. Tadashi lets out an ugly, anguished yell as he slams his hands at the glass.

"Tadashi?" He hears his Aunt's voice call but he needs to save Hiro. Save him from whatever is hurting him. His brother's eyes bleed around the edges and his mouth is open in a silent scream: _Help me._

"Hiro!" he smushes himself against wall where his image has already started to fade. _"Hiro!"_

The lights are suddenly on, Hiro is gone, and Aunt Cass screams when Tadashi's fists are thrown into the glass and the night shatters with it.

 **(::)**

 _He's forgotten his own name._

 **(::)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 **(::)**

Baymax is trying his hardest to calm the young man down as Aunt Cass sits back, rattled from the turn of the events. He eventually becomes rational enough to push the bot away, and the glass shards littered across the hall goes uncleaned because everyone is too upset, and Baymax will pop at the contact.

Tadashi keeps trying to reassure her as he's being patched up. That he's okay, that he's sorry he scared her, that it was just a bad dream. The two huddle together and Baymax is forced to the front door with his poor social skills to deal with complaining neighbors for of all the disturbances.

They're just dreams, he repeats as Mochi blinks up at him, knowingly. They aren't dangerous.

They do not try to fall asleep again.

 **(::)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

 **~~~~(::)~~~~**

 _She sniffled._

 _"Will it hurt?"_

 _"Oh, my doll, not at all."_

 **(::)**

It is morning when Hiro is found in front of the fireplace of the little blue family room with new scrapes on his palms and knees, a blue bruise blooming above his brow, and scratches along his cheekbones. He has a fire going and Mochi curled around his ankles. Tadashi wants to strangle him and smother him as he does when Hiro comes home at one in the morning from a bot fight, but something stops him. _His face pale blue, agape in horror and eyes bleeding from his lashes-_

"Hiro!" Came a desperate howl. "We were worried sick!"

Nothing stops Aunt Cass. She surges forward to throw her arms around the child- Hiro jerks away. His brown orbs are glassy and wide and he stares at her from his place on the dusty floor like he doesn't know who she is. She has a flash of confusion and hurt across her face and Tadashi half expects her to yank on the boy's ear like she normally does, if not for the lost look on his little brother's face.

Something in his heart breaks.

"Hiro?" Tadashi goes to him in short, slow, cautious steps, as though he were approaching a scared rabbit. "Hiro, it's alright, bud. We're not mad. Where have you been?"

Hiro backs away, almost too close to the flames licking up the old bricks of their fireplace, when Tadashi tries to get his little brother in a gentle hold from his small shoulders, and still they tremble when he suceeds. Tadashi kneels so that they are closer in height, and Hiro can stare into deep depths of warm amber brown and love and concern. "Hey, hey, it's alright. Are you hurt?"

 _("We love you very much, dear.")_

When was the last time Hiro had cried? Tadashi holds the side of his face, the pad of his thumb tracing the curve of his high cheekbone and sweeping along the corner of his eye to wipe at the wetness he finds there.

Hiro flinches.

Baymax toddles into the room, and lightly nudges at Tadashi to step away. Hiro stays frozen in place. "Hiro's heart rate seems to have increased. He has slight muscle tension. He could be experiencing high levels of stress, or shock."

"Immediate treatment would include: grounding." Baymax takes one more step closer. He begins treatment. "There, there, Hiro. It will be alright. Try to feel the ground beneath your feet. Can you tell me what color the walls are?"

Hiro is very still for a minute before his face contorts into a strained, confused expression. "T-they're...blue."

"Good. You are doing well. Try to focus. What color is the image on my screen?" A smiley face blinks up on Baymax's belly.

"Yellow."

His robot and his brother continue like this until Hiro lets the healthcare assistant treat the cuts on his arms and legs, and apply cream to his bruise after wiping his face with a hot towel. Tadashi watches, not knowing what to do or even feel, from the sides, not even realizing he'd never touched upon emotional healing with Baymax. His Aunt had gone to get Hiro a new set of pajamas and a glass of water.

So instead Tadashi turns away from the scene to face the chimney, where the fire burns brightly-

where Chibi Hiro is still disintegrating in the hearth, glowing hot red at the stitches.

"They're still there." He hears Hiro say shakily to Baymax. "They're still there- I left them."

Baymax is not really listening to him.

"There, there. You will be alright."

 **(::)**

 **Thank you very much for your reviews! They make me smile :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello everyone! I hope your holidays were great! I apologize deeply for the delay as I was preoccupied with moving into my new place and keeping up with my other personal matters. Thank you very much for those reading and following this story and for those who left a review. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _(In the darkness here,_

 _three fading lights speak to him._

 _ **"** Hush, and shush..." they say._

 _Here, it's so cold. Dark._

 _The faces here are so young_

 _"...the Beldam is listening **."** )_

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 **\- - - Chapter 27 - - -**

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The next day everyone is walking on glass, an unspoken rule of caution that for all of their sanity could not be broken. Breakfast conversation is stale. Aunt Cass and Tadashi exchange quiet words and looks in the halls when Hiro isn't looking. They don't let him out of their sight, a slight comfort to themselves that he won't disappear into thin air or pass out in a room alone from stress. Baymax is great to fall back on when either of them is preoccupied, but Tadashi is still guilty of ordering from the robot a live feed on his brother from where ever he can't reach them, to his phone.

But Hiro's shoulders stiffen now and then, breathing heavily through his nostrils as he shakily studies whatever room he's in, He would always turn to where he knows Baymax is stationed, and ask him to scan for other people, releasing a sigh of relief when he would find no one.

It's as though Hiro is terrified of being watched, and only then does Tadashi decide to switch the camera off.

 **(::)**


	28. Chapter 28

**.:.**

 **(::)**

 **\- - - Chapter 28 - - -**

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Though Hiro is a slippery and proactive young boy, how quickly he seems to bounce back from that night is startling, and even scary. He stalks into each room with too much purpose and dangerous determination set in his face, his shoulders. He somehow evades everyone enough to avoid too many questions and gives the family a heart attack when they officially lose track of him sometime in the afternoon that day. At the end of the night Tadashi finally is able to track him back into his bedroom only to find him, hair messier than ever before, hunched over layers upon layers of the maps of the house ones he had to pick out the bin because he'd only just trashed them the day before. "Hiro?"

The boy is startled enough to nearly launch himself off of the bed, the papers crinkling from the shift of weight. The glare Tadashi finds himself on the receiving end on is weak. "Tadashi! Jesus- can you not do that?"

Tadashi apologizes, but doesn't turn a blind eye to the way his little brother turns in a way that obscures his view from the spreads and jottings of notes he has on his bed. He frowns. "Is that Megabot?"

The small robot that he swears he remembers Hiro specifically promising not to bring grins maniacally from behind him. Still, it's a better sight than seeing the doll from before. "What happened to 'Chibi Hiro'?"

He already knows. The little demon still burns in his mind's eye. Hiro scowls slowly. "Why does it matter? You hated it anyways. Besides, I must have just missed my bots- keeping a _doll_ around for that long."

It's an improvement, he agrees, but he wants to ask what's been going on with him, or where he disappeared to that night no one still dares to mention. Tadashi finds himself at a loss of what to do, or what to ask because he doesn't understand the information he _does_ have. It's something that's way beyond him. "Hiro? What's been going on? What are you working on there?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Oh, fine." Tadashi sighs tiredly, "I won't, at least not until, what? You disappear again? What then?" Hiro jumps when he sees him coming closer to him, trying his hardest to keep him far enough away to avoid seeing his bed. Tadashi has to work himself down from the frustration he's building up before he's able to speak again, wavering a little in his next words. "We… we were so _scared_ , Hiro. We have no idea what's been going on with you but it's not just creepy- it's really unhealthy for you! Leaving in the middle of the night and having delusions of…"

Tadashi breaks off there, not able to finish the thought. "but if you just talked to us-"

The boy turns on him, frantically, the panic-stricken look on such a young face making the older brother's heart ache. "You would think I'm crazy."

Sadness washed him over like an ice bath. "I won't. I won't. You just- please just talk to me. You're scared, I can tell you are so please just let me help you."

"I thought it was real." Hiro is opening up suddenly, immediately, like he's been waiting to. "Or I- I. I don't know. I just wanted t-to. I…"

The boy broke out into angry, anguished sobs. "I was so stupid!"

"No." Tadashi frowns and pulls the younger one into his chest. "You're not, okay? Please, please, if you're in any trouble just tell me. Please… Hiro?"

Hiro pulls away and is looking at the ground, avoiding his gaze. "I need you to believe me."

Tadashi nods.

For a while there's only the sounds of his brother's unsteady breathing.

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"I…I'm in so much trouble, Tadashi. I need your help"

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 _(Her voice is so warm. And so welcoming.)_

 _("They say even the proudest spirit can be broken, with love.")_

 ** _(::)_**

 ** _._**

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 ** _Thank you so much for reading- we're not so far from the end! I apologize for such a long wait, but my updating schedule has been-_** and will probably continue to be inconsistent **_due my other responsibilities as a student. I still really appreciate your support and the fact that you can enjoy this as I am. Please feel free to leave a review!_**

 ** _Thank you!_**


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